Flushing-tank.



' No. 630,437. P atented Aug. 3, 399..

I c. .1. BALL.

FLUSHING TANK (Applicatidn filed Jan. 10, 1899.)

(N0 Model.)

TNE'NORRIS PETERS o0. wonxumo. WASHINGTON. u c

UNITE STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES J. BALL, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

FLUSHlNG-TANK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 630,437, dated August8, 1899. Application filed January 10, I899- Serial No. 701,741. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it nan/y concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. BALL, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of the city of Los Angeles, State of California, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Flushing-Tanks for\Vater- Closets and other Purposes, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates more particularly to that class of flushing-tanksin which the flushing is secured by siphonic action.

As heretofore constructed flushing-tanks of the kind mentioned aregenerally filled with water admitted through an inlet-valve which isopened and closed by the descending and ascending movements of a floatconnected to the inlet valve generally through the medium of a lever.The flushing action is obtained by discharging the water in the tankthrough a siphon, normally inoperative, but which is usually set inoperation by opening an outlet-valve in the tank or in a pipe leadingtherefrom or directly or indirectly connected therewith, the siphonitself frequently forming such outlet-valve and resting on a seat in ornear the bottom of the tank. When the outlet-valve is opened, it permitswater from the tank to flow down the long leg of the siphon, thusinitiating the siphonic action whereby the contents of the tank aredischarged, whereupon the float descends, opening the inlet-valve, andthereby admitting water to again fill the tank. Owing to the greatliability of the outlet-valve to leak, whereby the float is permitted todescend and reopen the inlet-valve, it has heretofore been proposed todispense with the outlet-valve and secure the initial action of thesiphon by immersing a plunger-float in the water of the tank, therebyraising the level of the water in the entire tank, and consequently inthe short leg of the siphon, to a point high enough to start thesiphonic action; but this is open to the objection that it requiresconsiderable effort to immerse a plunger large enough to raise the levelof the water in the entire tank and the further objection that itsaction is so sluggish as to render it necessary to hold the floatdepressed for a considerable period of time to fully initiate thesiphonic action. Since in many constructions now in use the closure ofthe inlet-valve is dependent uponthe buoyancy of the float, it followsthat the closure of said valve' depends upon the height of the water inthe tank and therefore that the inlet-valve will be closed just at themoment when the water reaches its maximum level, at which time anequilibrium exists between the buoyancy of the float and the pressure ofthe supply-water, and. hence the inlet-valve is not firmly seated. Ifsaid level is lowered by any cause, as by leakage of an outlet-valve,the inlet-valve will again be opened slightly and water will flow in tosupply that flowing out at the leak. This opening of the inlet-valve isvery slight and the pressure in the service-pipe will cause a finestream to flow through the inlet-valve, which by means of grit and dirtin the water will soon so out the valve and its seat as to render aneffective closure thereof impossible. A further objection is that whenthe inletvalve is held to its seat solely by the buoyancy of the floatany slight increase in the pressure in the service-pipe, such as usuallyoccurs at night, is sure to cause a leak in the inlet-valve.

The objects of my invention are to construct a tank flushing by siphonicaction or in other manner which shall dispense with all Valves exceptthe inlet-valve, shall act easily and promptly, and shall eifectivelyprevent leaks at the inlet-valve and hold it firmly to its seat evenwhen pressure in the service-pipe is greatly increased, and to providemeans to keep the inlet-valy e wide open till the tank is nearly filled.

With these objects in view the invention consists in a tank having asiphon, a suitable inlet-valve, and ablock of considerable thicknessloosely fitting in and substantially closing the upper portion of saidtank except at a cut-away portion in said block,within which cut-awayportion a plunger-float is free to move up and down,said float beingconnected to the inlet-valve so that by its downward movement siphonicaction is initiated and the inlet-valve is opened and byits upwardmovement the inlet-vavle is closed. The block, with its cutaway portion,affords a cheap and easily-applied means for forming a neck within whichthe plunger-float acts to quickly raise the level of the water toinitiate siphonicaction, and also enables the water to rise in fillingthe tank till the level of the water in the tank reaches the lower faceof the block, after which the fioat quickly rises in the neck. Theresult of this is that the inlet-valve rea mains well open till the tankis filled and then flow of water for flushing purposes, an inletvalve, aplunger-float controlling the closing movements of said inlet-valve, anda power device rendered active by the plunger-float when the water inthe tank has nearly reached its normal level to effect the final closingmovement of the inlet-valve, which power device acts to quickly closethe valve and firmly hold it to its seat even against greatly-increasedpressure in the service-pipe.

Furthermore, the invention consists in a tank having a block ofconsiderable thickness loosely fitting in and substantially closing theupper portion of said tank, except at a cut-away part in said block,which forms a neck or portion in which the water can rise higher than inthe main body of the tank, a plunger-float capable of moving up and downin said neck portion, an inlet-valve connected to said plunger-float, asiphon, means for depressing said plunger-float, whereby the siphonicaction is initiated and the inlet-valve opened, and a shifting weightinoperative when the valve is full-opened, but shifted by theplunger-float on the final closing move-v ment of the valve, so as topress the latter firmly on its seat and hold it there.

The invention finally consists in the combinations of elementshereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

The tank may be in the form of an opentopped vessel or cistern having aclosure-piece or block of suitable thickness inserted therein, whichpiece has an opening therethrough' constituting the upwardly-projectingneck within which the plunger-float may operate. The lower face of theblock or closure-piece should be at or near and preferably slightlybelow the level of the water in the tank when the inlet-valve is closed.The block should be of such thickness that its sides act as wallsextending upward from the bottom surface of the block, and it may beeither a solid block of material or it may be formed from a sheet ofmaterial with the side walls struck up to correspond with the side wallsof a solid block. Such closure-piecemay, if desired, fit snugly in themouth or open top of the tank; but I prefer to make it slightly smallerthan the tank, into which it loosely fits, and to secure it in positionby any suitable means.

There is also provided a second opening through the closure-piece intoor through which the crown of the siphon projects.

It will be apparent that the inventive idea involved may be expressed indifferent meface of the block.

chanical structures, andl have illustrated one of such structures in theaccompanying drawings; but the same are to be understood as illustrativeonly and not in any way defining the limits or scope of the invention.

. In said drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section, partsjbeing shown inelevation; Fig. 2, a plan view of Fig. 1.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout both views.

T represents a tanlgwhichmay be of any desired shape and of any suitablematerial and is closed at its top,except as to a portion T,which has upwardly-proj ectin g walls rising a considerable distance above theinterior face of the top or upper wall of the main body of the tank. Iconstruct said top or upper wall in the form of a block E, Fig. 1, ofanysuitable material, preferably several inches in thickness and of suchsize as to fitloosely within the open top of the tank. An opening 7 isformed in the block B, into or through which the crown s of the siphon Smay freelyproject, and the block is further cut away, preferably at onecorner, as shown at B", Fig. 2. Such block is adj ustably secured at theproper height within the mouth'or open top of the tank and prevents thewater in the main body of the tank from rising higher than the inner orlower 'When thus secured within the tank, the face 0" of the cut-awayportion thereof, together with the walls t of the tank T oppositethereto, constitute, in effect, an upwardly-proj ectin g neck or portionto the tank. I

S is a siphon of any suitable construction, the upper end of whose longleg S projects somewhat above the inner or lower face of the block B. Asshown, the siphon projects into the opening 1" of the block R; but itis'manifest that the parts might be so arranged as to allow the siphonto project into the open neck or portion R", in which case the opening 0in the block R would be omitted. P is a plunger-fioat, which may be ofany suitable size .have av comparatively small cross-sectional area inthe neck-opening R within which to rise, and consequently a slightdepression of the plu nger will cause a correspondingly great elevationof the water-level in the neck-opening R, in the opening 4", and in thecrevices surrounding the block R and between it and the walls of thetank T. The immediate effect of this great and rapid rise in thewaterlevel is to suddenly fill the crown s of the siphon with water,expelling the air therefrom and starting siphonic action.

V is the inlet-valve, which may be of any preferred construction, and Zis a lever .hav-

' depress the plunger-float to effect the initial valve.

siphonic action and the opening of the inlet- I have shown a lever Lfulcrumed at f 011 a cross-bar F, supported by the side walls of thetank, said lever L being connected, as by a nut 11,, to theprojectingend of the stem 3 and having its arm L projecting over the endof the tank, with the usual pull-chain h attached thereto. For thepurpose of ad justably securing the lever L to the stem 5 it is hereshown as held between two nuts n 'n on the screw-threaded upper end ofthe stem; but it is evident that I might use other means of adjustment,as by substituting washers for the nut 01.. By thus adjustably securingthe lever to the stem the desired immersion of the plunger-float may beobtained and the timing of the action of the shifting weight,hereinafter described, accurately accomplished. I prefer to place abufier h on the upper edge of the tank to limit the downward movement ofthe arm L and also to prevent the noise that would be caused by thestriking of the lever against the tank; but manifestly the parts may beso adjusted that theedge of the tank itself will act as a stop to limitthe downward movement of the lever and plungerfioat. As heretoforestated, siphonic action will be quickly initiated and the inlet-valveopened by a very small depression of the plunger-float, and it ismanifest that the closing movement of the inlet-valve will not beginuntil the tank is again filled nearly to its normal level, when thewater will reach the plunger-float, which will again be buoyed up by therising water, carrying with it the long arm of the lever Z and closingthe valve.

As a means for preventing any leak of the valve due to its failure tobecome firmly seated or to an increased pressure'in the servicepipe Ihave provided a power device which at the time when theplunger-float iswholly depressed is partially or wholly inactive, but which is renderedactive by the final upward movement of the plunger-float at the instantwhen the inlet-valve is about to close. This power device may assumevarious forms, but

lever-arm L to a point immediately over or nearly over the fulcrum f ofthe lever L. The relative lengths of the arm L and that part of arm Lbetweenthe fulcrum f and the stem 8 and of the long and short arms ofthe lever Zare such that a weight W of, say, one pound will produce avastly-increased eifective pressure on the inlet-valve V to hold itfirmly to its seat when the weight is at the outer end of the arm L".The operation of this portion of the device will be readily understood.WVhen the arm L of the lever Lis depressed by a pull on the chain h, theplunger-fioat P is depressed, the siphonic action initiated, theinlet-valve V opened, and at the sametime the arm L" of the lever L iselevated, causing the weight W to roll thereon as a track to theposition shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1-that is, to a point over ornearly over the fulcrum f-whn it has little or no tendency to tilt thelever in either direct-ion. Notwithstanding the fact that the pull onthe chain It may be quickly released the siphonic action is so promptthat the tank will be rapidly emptied, the several parts remaining inthe positions shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. In this position theinlet-valve will be wide open and will so remain until the level of thewater becomes sufliciently high to buoy up the plunger-float. This willnot occur until the Water has nearly reached its normal level, so thatthe inlet-valve remains fully open until this level is nearly reached,after which the rising of the water slowly lifts the plunger-float, andthereby gradually closes the inlet-valve. the plunger-float alsoelevates the arm L of the lever L, correspondingly depressing the arm L.This depression of the arm L will not cause any movement of the weightWV from its position over the fulcrumf until it has progressed farenough to cause the downward incline of the arm L to be from rather thantoward the fulcrum f, which does not occur until the valve V is about toclose; but when the arm L is depressed far enough to incline it from thefulcrum f the weight WV quickly shifts from its position over thefulcrum to the outer end of the arm L, thereby acting as an efiectivepower device to hold the inlet-valve firmly closed.

From the foregoing description of the particular embodiment of myinvention shown in the drawings, it will be apparent that the sameinventive idea may be embodied in different structures and in differentrelative arrangements of the several elements or by using some of theelements and subcombinations without the use of others. For instance,thepower device instead of being in the form of a shifting weight on the leverL might be in the form a weight applied to the long arm of the leverl, and the combination of the plungerfloat with a tank having a reducedneck might be employed to secure initial siphonic action or theoperations of the inlet-valve, or both, without using the power device.

The upward movement of IIO All such modifications and subcombinations,7'

however, clearly fall within the scope of the invention as hereinafterdefined in the claims.

' Having thus fullydescribed my invention, What I claim is 1. Aflushing-tank with a reduction-block adj ustably secured in the upperportion thereof, said block having side walls entirely around the sameand extending upward from the bottom surface of the block.

2. A flushing-tank with a reduction-block secured within and looselyfitting the upper portion thereof, said block having side walls entirelyaround the same and extending up- Ward from the bottom surface of theblock. 3. The combination of a fiushing-tankwith an adjustablereduction-block secured within and partially filling the upper portionof the tank but leaving an open space, said block having side wallsentirely around the same and extending upward from the bottom surface ofthe block, an inlet-valve, a plunger-float and a siphon.

4. The combination of a flushing-tank with a reduction-block having sidewalls entirely around the same and extending upward from its bottomsurface, the block fitting loosely within the upper portion of the tankbut leaving an open space, a plunger-float in said space, aninlet-valve'and a siphon.

5. In a flushing-cistern the combination of a tank with areduction-block fitting loosely Within the upper portion of the tank,but leaving an open space, an inlet-valve, a plunger-float within saidopen space and connected to said valve, a power device normally holdingsaid valve closed, and a siphon.

6. In a flushing-cistern the combination of a tank with areduction-block fitting loosely I said valve, said power device beingrendered inoperative when the float is depressed and automaticallyrendered operative by the buoyant action of the float.

7. The combination of a flushing-tank having a reduction-block with sidewalls entirely around the same and extending upward from its bottomsurface and cut away to leave an open space, a plunger-float in saidspace, a lever connected to said plunger-float Whereby it may bedepressed, a siphon having its crown above the normal level of the waterin the tank, an inlet-valve connected to said plunger-float, and a powerdevice, normally holding said inlet-valve closed.

8. In a flushing-tank the combination 0 a siphon, an inlet-valve, aplunger-float adjustably connected thereto, a lever adjustably connectedto said plunger-float, a shifting weight on said lever and a stop forsaid Weight on said lever near its fulcrum, substantially as described.

9. In a flushing-tank the combination of a siphon, an inlet-valve, aplunger-float adjustably connected thereto, a lever connected to saidplunger-float, a shifting weight on said lever, and a stop for saidweight on said lever near its fulcrum.

10. The combination of a tank, a reductionblock adjustably secured inthe upper portion of the tank, an inlet-valve, a plungerfioat adjustablysecured thereto, an operating-lever adj ustably secured to said floatand a shifting weight on said lever.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES J. BALL.

